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UCTV Launches YouTube’s First University-Run Original Channel

It’s official! UCSD-based UCTV has made history with today’s launch of UCTV Prime, YouTube’s first university-run original channel. Each week, UCTV Prime presents 15 minutes of fresh content — ranging from in-depth documentary mini-series to election analysis, commentary and reports on the latest research developments from throughout the UC system. New programs are uploaded Tuesdays and Fridays at www.youtube.com/uctvprime, with bonus material, blog posts and more available at the UCTV Prime website. Make sure to subscribe to UCTV Prime today and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for upcoming interactive features.

UCTV Prime makes its YouTube debut with “Naked Art,” a four-part mini-series exploring the preeminent art collections at UC San Diego, UCLA and UC San Francisco. The premiere episode explores UC San Diego’s Stuart Collection, a unique collection of site-specific works by leading artists of our time, including Do Ho Suh, whose latest piece, “Fallen Star,” features a small house that’s been picked up by a mysterious force and “landed” on a building, seven stories up.

Also coming soon, UCTV Prime: Vote, a recurring, 5-minute series offering election analysis and commentary by UC faculty and experts (premieres March 13), and UCTV Prime: Cuts, another regular 5-minute segment reporting on research developments, entertaining events and interesting personalities on the campuses and beyond (debuts March 6). Stay tuned in April for our next mini-series, “The Skinny on Obesity,” examining the obesity epidemic and how UC San Francisco researchers are working to combat it.

The Upright Ape

Why are we the only two-legged creature to develop an exclusively upright gait? And what did it mean to the development of the human species? In this new three-part series, the Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA) at UC San Diego brings you foremost experts to explore the many facets of these questions in this fascinating series.

We’re thrilled to announce that on March 1, University of California Television (UCTV) –which is co-located with UCSD-TV–will launch a new YouTube original channel, UCTV Prime, the first university-run channel to be included among YouTube’s new production partnerships with recognizable brands like The Wall Street Journal, Madonna and TED. Each week, UCTV Prime will debut 15 minutes of fresh content from throughout the University of California at www.youtube.com/uctvprime and www.uctv.tv/prime.

UCTV Prime’s programming will draw on the tremendous knowledge resources available on the ten University of California campuses, five medical schools, three national labs and other affiliated institutions. Like the UC system itself, UCTV Prime will be a lively place to find new ideas, spark the imagination and discover diverse voices on just about every subject. With documentary mini-series, interviews, commentaries and video shorts each week, UCTV Prime aims to bring to light the innovations, trends, issues and personalities that shape our world.

The UCTV Prime channel will be anchored by a collection of in-depth, 10-minute documentary mini-series. The channel’s March 1 debut will feature the first installment of “Naked Art,” a four-part mini-series exploring UC’s preeminent public art collections, including UC San Diego’s renowned Stuart Collection.

Then, on April 6, UCTV Prime will debut a three-part series examining the obesity epidemic and how UC San Francisco researchers like Dr. Robert Lustig, whose 2009 UCTV video, “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” has become a YouTube hit with over two million views, are working to combat it.

The channel will also feature “UCTV Prime: Vote,” a recurring, 5-minute segment offering election analysis and commentary by UC faculty and experts, and “UCTV Prime: Cuts,” another 5-minute recurring series reporting on research developments, entertaining events and interesting personalities on the campuses and beyond. “UCTV Prime: Cuts” premieres March 6 with a look at innovative canine cancer research and treatment taking place at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and how it translates into cancer care for humans. “UCTV Prime: Vote” kicks off March 13 with UC San Diego’s Peter Gourevitch on who’s driving the debate between austerity and spending, UC Merced’s Jessica Trounstine on factors that decrease incumbents’ responsiveness to voters, and UC Davis’ Giovanni Peri on the economic impact of immigration.

UCTV Prime is one of around one hundred original channels on the YouTube platform created specifically for today’s connected viewers around the world. The new advertising-supported channels feature well-known personalities and content producers from TV, film, music, news, and sports, as well as some of the most innovative new media companies in the world and some of YouTube’s own existing partners, including UCTV, which operates one of YouTube’s most popular education channels, with 50,000 subscribers and over 4,800 videos.

“With technology and viewer habits changing so fast, the whole nature of ‘television’ is evolving,” said Lynn Burnstan, UCTV’s director. “We’re thrilled and honored to take part in YouTube’s ambitious effort to shape the future of the medium. Since UCTV’s beginning twelve years ago, we have continually developed new and innovative uses of television and, today, the future is more exciting than ever.”

Based on the UC San Diego campus, UCTV presents educational and enrichment programming from the campuses, national laboratories, and affiliated institutions of the University of California. UCTV delivers science, health and medicine, public affairs, humanities and the arts to a general audience, as well as specialized programming for health care professionals, teachers and researchers. UCTV is available worldwide via live stream, video archives and podcasting, on YouTube at www.youtube.com/uctv and www.youtube.com/uctvprime, on iTunesU in the Beyond Campus section, and on cable in select cities throughout California. For a complete list of UCTV’s outlets, visit www.uctv.tv/wheretowatch.

We’re all bronzed out after learning that four UCSD-TV produced programs have received Bronze Telly Awards, a competition honoring the very best film and video productions, groundbreaking online video content, and outstanding local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs.

Our arts producer, John Menier, has his hands full with three of the stunning statues in three different categories:

No, there wasn’t a tornado throwing houses around La Jolla earlier this week. The airborne cottage spotted on the UC San Diego campus was actually the much-anticipated installation of artist Do Ho Suh’s “Fallen Star,” the latest addition to UCSD’s acclaimed Stuart Collection.